January 19, 2013

Abortion 40 Years After Roe v. Wade

The 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which was handed down on Jan 22, 1973, comes as states have added more and more restrictions -- 43 state laws passed last year and 92 passed in 2011, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a group that does extensive research on abortion. Just three weeks ago, Texas defunded all Planned Parenthood clinics in the state – many of which do not perform abortions -- for being affiliated with an organization that advocates them. Read more...

ACLU Drops Challenge to Kansas Abortion Law

The American Civil Liberties Union ended its legal challenge Friday to a Kansas law restricting private health insurance coverage for abortions. A court filing shows the parties have agreed to dismiss all remaining claims, with each side bearing its own costs and attorneys' fees. The agreement follows a federal judge's Jan. 7 ruling that, as a matter of law, the ACLU failed to provide any evidence that the Legislature's predominant motivation in passing the 2011 law was to make it more difficult to get abortions. Read more...

Woman Spends 42 Years Fighting Abortion

Beverly Cielnicky is an unassuming, soft-spoken woman who has spent four decades making her voice resound. The sweater-clad, bespectacled 75-year-old is a mother, a grandmother, a recreational gardener, a scrapbooking hobbyist and a retired fourth-grade teacher. But she is also the president of Crusade for Life, a grassroots anti-abortion organization first incorporated in 1971, two years before the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. Read more...

January 15, 2013

States Deliver 43 Pro-Life Laws in 2012

As the United States approaches Roe v. Wade's 40th anniversary, pro-life advocates have gained ground in restricting the number of abortions taking place every year. In 2012, 43 pro-life provisions went into effect in 19 states, the second highest number after states enacted 92 pro-life laws in 2011. The numbers come from a report published by pro-abortion group Guttmacher Institute, which calculated the number of pro-life provisions rather than bills or laws, since bills often have multiple provisions. Read more...

Mississippi Clinic Can't Comply With Law

Mississippi's only abortion clinic missed a deadline to comply with a 2012 state law that requires each of its physicians to get hospital admitting privileges — a law the governor said he signed with the hopes of shutting the clinic down. The state Health Department won't immediately close the clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization. The department will set an inspection later, and if it orders a shutdown, the clinic can appeal. Clinic administrator Diane Derzis said every Jackson-area hospital where the clinic applied for privileges said no. Read more...

Wyoming Abortion Bills Focus on Heartbeats

A pair of bills before the Wyoming Legislature fixate on the heartbeat of the embryo or fetus before an abortion. House Bill 97 would prohibit abortions if an embryo or fetus heartbeat is detected. Senate File 88 would provide pregnant women the opportunity to listen to the fetus' heartbeat before an abortion, among other things. Abortion rights advocates oppose the bills. Read more...

Generation Life Spreads Pro-Life, Chastity Message

The National Catholic Register has published a profile of the work of Generation Life, an organization whose 16 missionaries speak to 25,000 youth annually about chastity and respect for life. "We're fighting abortion by promoting the virtue of chastity," said Christine Barba, the organization's executive director. "At the root cause of the culture of death is a lack of understanding of our body and our procreative powers." Read more...

Conference Knocks 'Cuomo's Abortion Expansion Plan'

The New York State Catholic Conference has put out a strongly worded memo of opposition to the Reproductive Health Act that, in case you missed their message, brands it as "Governor Cuomo's Abortion Expansion Plan." Cardinal Timothy Dolan came out against Cuomo's call for the measure — long sought by Democrats in the Legislature — immediately after it provided one of the most enthusiastic responses from the crowd in Wednesday's State of the State address ("It's her body, it's her choice!"). Read more...